Five
by hersheygal
Summary: Five times James has an impact on Kate's life. Scenes from Seasons 2-6 and after. Mentions of Jate and Suliet.
1. Chapter 1

It was the first time she had cried in front of him. She was trying so hard to be quiet, away from everyone else. Jack had locked himself in the bathroom, Michael was somewhere off by himself, and Hurley was sitting with Libby. Kate didn't know where to go. She didn't have a strong connection to either Ana or Libby, but their deaths were shocking nonetheless and Kate was scared. So she sat by herself at the kitchen table. She hugged her arms to herself, fighting tears that were already falling. She didn't even notice his presence. James had walked in to check on her and the others, and as soon as he saw her slumped figure at the table, he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. She fought it at first, tried to hide her face from him, but gave up when she realized there was no point in trying. James held her tightly, needing the embrace as much as she did. No words needed to be exchanged, they just needed each other.

A/N: I'm planning on updating once a day. I think this one is the shortest one. Please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

The helicopter was loud and the ride was bumpy. Kate was anxious to get to the freighter. Frank and Jack were arguing on whether to go back to the island because they were running out of fuel. Knowing how stubborn Jack could be, Kate knew that if they didn't find the freighter soon the helicopter was going to sink right in the middle of the ocean. Kate tried to drown out Jack and Frank's voices, staring out at the ocean. James' voice soon interrupted her thoughts. He whispers in her ear, asking her to do something for him. Kate barely has time to react before his mouth is on hers. His mouth is familiar, like home. His rough hand caressing her soft cheek makes her heart race. She closes her eyes, deepening the kiss, sensing there's a reason for the sudden outburst. They break apart and Kate looks into James' eyes as he tells her to do what he told her to do. And then he's gone. She yells out his name and looks down into the ocean, searching for his head to break the water, and he does. Kate's heart breaks, but at the same time, she knows that he did it for her. She smiles. He is a hero.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate stood at the beginning of the pier. She didn't know what to do. All she wanted was for things to go back to the way they were, but she knew it would never be the same. She stared at James, who was sitting at the end of the pier. He had lost the love of his life, and Kate was trying to understand how that would feel. How it would feel if Jack died. She couldn't even imagine, so she buried that thought deep inside her. She started walking towards James, she had to get him to react to her. He was like a zombie. She was hoping that if she talked to him about why she came back to the island he would listen and try to help her, and hopefully that would get his mind off of Juliet for a while. She just wanted him to smile again. Kate sat down beside James, she was afraid to look at him. So she started talking. She told him about why she came back to the island, and she apologized for Juliet. She listened to James talk about how he was going to ask her to marry him, and Kate's heart breaks even more. Ever since she had come back to the island, Kate was continually amazed at how much James had changed since he had jumped off that helicopter. It made her realize that they weren't a good match, no matter what they felt for each other. And they would always feel something for each other, but it wasn't meant to be. James shows Kate the ring he planned to ask Juliet to marry him with, and then throws it in the water, tears falling down his face. He leaves Kate at the pier alone. Kate covers her face and sobs. She sobs for James, for Juliet, and finally for herself. The ring reminds her of the ring she once wore on her own finger. She pulled her hands away from her face and just stares at the place where the ring once sat. Back when life didn't seem so complicated. But who was she kidding? Her life had always been complicated since the crash. She did understand what it felt like to not want to be alone. And yet here she was, feeling more alone than ever.

A/N: Next chapter is set after the finale!


	4. Chapter 4

Kate stared out the plane window, as if she could see anything. It was dark, and she wasn't even paying attention anyways. After she said goodbye to Jack she hadn't felt anything. She jumped off the cliff and swam to the boat. She and James got to the other island and she talked to Claire and then they were on the plane. It was all a blur to her. All she could think about was that she had to get herself and Claire on that plane so that what Jack was doing wasn't going to be for nothing. She hates how stubborn Jack was when his mind was made up, and it hurt her that he wouldn't go with her. But she knew his purpose was on the island. It was why their relationship suffered off the island, because he was supposed to be on the island, doing this. But now she feels the pain. It started in her chest, and not just from her wound in her shoulder, which was definitely bleeding from all the use of it the last few hours. But she didn't care. That was nothing compared to her chest. It started there, this deep, clenching pain that started spreading, and soon it was in her throat forming a large lump that made it hard to breathe or swallow. Claire had long ago fallen asleep, and Kate had moved to the back of the plane to be alone with her thoughts. But she wasn't really thinking, she was just feeling. She knew tears were falling down her cheeks, but she didn't have the energy to wipe them, or the energy to try to stop them. She knew it was useless.

"You okay?" James voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She hadn't even noticed him sit beside her.

She turned to him, just staring. Her wet cheeks told him everything he needed to know.

He glanced at her shoulder and his hands slowly moved. One gripping her arm to prevent her from struggling, and the other pulling her shirt back to look at the damage. But there was no need to grip her arm; Kate had no intention of fighting. He grabbed a few napkins to put some pressure on the wound and to try to stop the bleeding, expecting Kate to wince, but she didn't. He gently put her shirt back into place, and Kate brought her hand up to the wound, closing her eyes, remembering when Jack sewed her. She had been scared, and angry about Sun and Jin, and in pain. All she could do was look at Jack, and yet that was the best thing she could do, because just looking into his eyes made her feel better. They always had. But now she was never going to look into those eyes again.

A sob escaped from her mouth, and Kate's eyes opened, the tears now streaming freely down her face. James' hands slowly reached for her face, pausing a few times before finally reaching their destination. He wasn't sure how she would react, but he definitely knew how she was feeling. He attempted to wipe her tears with his thumbs, but it was no use, the tears were just replaced with fresh ones.

James sighed and cursed Jack under his breath. Of course he had to leave her behind. James didn't know what to do next so he removed his hands from her face and just sat beside her, but Kate craved the comfort James was offering, and she collapsed into him, now not even trying to contain her sobs. James wrapped his arms around her, the pain from Juliet's death starting to resurface. He was leaving the island, something Juliet had been trying to do for over six years. He missed her like crazy and although Kate's warm body against his was comforting, as they were both seeking the same thing, it was nothing compared to the way Juliet made him feel. And he knew he would never feel that way again, nor would Kate.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been three years since both Juliet and Jack had died, and life had never been the same. Kate had returned to a somewhat normal life, helping Claire raise Aaron like she wanted to, but there was always a pain in her chest that she couldn't get rid of, like a scar on her heart.

She was good at pretending it wasn't there though. Kate devoted her entire life to helping Claire raise Aaron, she felt it was the only thing that would justify Jack's death. Aaron was, after all, Jack's nephew, and Claire was his sister. Kate spent a lot of time with Jack's mom as well, even though Jack's mom told her that Jack would want her to have her own life part from his family, Kate couldn't see it any other way.

One night Kate was alone by herself though. Aaron was in bed and Claire had gone out on a date. She had met a British man at a bar and they had both hit it off. Kate had insisted Claire have a night out. Kate sat on the couch in their two story house. She knew what today was. It was the anniversary of Jack's death, and of the day he saved everyone. Claire had been too busy getting ready for her date to remember, and that was okay with Kate. She didn't really want to handle having Claire fret over her and having to assure Claire over and over again that she was okay.

"How are you doing Freckles?"

Kate turned her head, in shock. James sat beside her, his hair was trimmed and he wore a leather jacket.

"How did you get in?"

"Door was open, I knocked but no one answered. I decided to let myself in." James rested his arm on the couch, touching her shoulder with his hand.

"What are you doing here?"

James smiled sadly at Kate. "It's been three years."

Kate's face crumpled into tears at this, and once again James pulled her into him, holding her tight. Kate knew she didn't need to pretend with James. He knew what she was going through, because he was going through the same exact thing. No words needed to be exchanged, they just needed each other.


End file.
